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My family loves the Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida any time of the year. It’s a bright, colorful, fun resort with a nice, relaxing vibe. The suites are great for families, too. If you’ve stayed there before, I’m sure you’ve loved it.
But have you ever stayed at Art of Animation during the holiday season? Staying at the hotel is really special that time of the year.
We tell you reasons why your family should book a stay art Disney’s Art of Animation hotel next holiday season.
Art of Animation Christmas Decorations
I love the Christmas decorations at the Art of Animation Resort! They really fit the holiday season but the hotel as well.
For example, they keep up with the artistic theming of the hotel with a palette and paint tube decorating the Christmas tree. They also feature pictures of characters from the four animated movies the hotel is themed to (Cars, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid) on wreaths.
Christmas Activities
There are a lot of fun activities at the Art of Animation Resort for guests during the holiday season that are holiday-themed.
For example, one fun activity you can enjoy at Art of Animation any time of the year is Movie Under The Stars. This is when you can enjoy a movie at the Big Blue Pool Deck.
During the holiday season, some of the movies you’ll see are holiday movies! For example, last year, they played movies like Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, The Santa Clause, and my personal favorite holiday movie, Home Alone.
They also have arts and craft activities at the Big Blue Pool Deck during the day, and during the holiday season some are holiday themed.
And last year they had Bedtime Stories inside Animation Hall where castmembers read Christmas stories. Kids also get a chance during this time to write letters to Santa!
All of this can make an already great Christmas trip even better!
Disney Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios
One reason my family really likes staying at Art of Animation is that you can take a Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
I much prefer this mode of transportation to a bus. It’s much more relaxing than standing on a crowded bus – and can be much quicker.
And having great transportation to Epcot and Hollywood Studios is especially great during the holiday season. Because one of my favorite festivals at Epcot happens during the holiday season, and that is Festival of the Holidays! It is a wonderful celebration of the holiday season – and there are a lot of delicious foods and drinks available there, too.
A lot of the best parts of the festival take place at the World Showcase. This includes getting to go around to the different world pavilions and learn about their holiday traditions.
It also includes the Candlelight Processional, which is incredible. That’s when the story of Christmas is told by a celebrity narrator, who is accompanied by a large choir and 50-piece orchestra. When my family went last year, we watched Brendan Fraser and it was amazing.
And another great thing about taking a Skyliner to Epcot is that it takes you to the World Showcase entrance of Epcot. Which makes it much more convenient.
What’s also convenient when you stay at Art of Animation is visiting Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios is beautifully decorated for the holiday season.
And there is a special holiday after-hours event at Hollywood Studios that is called Jollywood Nights. It started last year, and my family loved it! It has great holiday food and drinks, live entertainment, special character appearances, and more. You can find more about it in our Jollywood Nights Guide.
Affordability
Another great thing about Art of Animation is that it is a “value” hotel at Disney World, which means the rates are less than other hotels. The suites can be expensive, but there are standard guest rooms in the Little Mermaid section. You can get those at a good rate; we’ve had the best success getting a good rate for Art of Animation guest rooms here.
Tips for Staying at Art of Animation
So that is one way you can save money when staying at Art of Animation. But there are other ways to save money when staying at Art of Animation. We go over these in our tips for Art of Animation. These tips also include ways to make your overall stay better.